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Being the romantic guy I am, I am going to buy my wife a new washer and dryer. There seems to be a large variance in the prices of the front load ones. Anybody have some real world knowledge of these things?

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2002 MCS, 2003 MCS Track Rat, 2003 Generic White Yukon, 2003 BMWk1200rs, 1973 CB350F, 02 996. 08 Cayenne Turbo
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With the huge price difference between a top loader and front loader I just can't justify buying a front loader. If you wash a sh*t ton of clothes or want to save the planet maybe, but if you want to save money it just ain't worth it IMO.

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Vincent Keene
'06 Ford Mustang GT (track rat)
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'07 Ford Fusion SE (205,000 miles and counting)
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The quality of the 200lb concrete weight on the bottom to damp vibrations?

Seriously, pay for the full delivery if you get a front loader.

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2001 Honda S2000 - SOLD
2012 Boss 302
2003 BMW 330i

What he said about the weights. We have one that sits on the pedestals on a laminate floor. I have a box of 12x12 floor tile in the pedestal and it still wants to walk.

We have Bosch and they are OK, I think CReports lists those the Whirlpool and sears as the least troublesome but that may have changed. I got mine at Lowes in their returns/scratch and dent pile. It had all the stuff, wasn't used and had only a scratch on the front. It was $250 off

I've had a whirlpool duet going on 8 years now. We had our first problem with it this past weekend which really wasn't the washers fault (a mechanical pencil in my pocket punctured the bellow that seals the door to the wash unit). The nice thing about having a higher end unit is you can actually get parts to fix it.

Mine hasn't had a problem with wanting to walk or wobble. It Is heavy as $h!t and a pain to move though.

Rob, are the shocks worn out on yours perhaps?

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2012 MX-5 Sport SUV

We have a Bosch without the base.

-No walking problems
-Contrary to the salesman at Lowes, you CANNOT stuff this thing as full as possible and it complete the load. It wiggs out on the spin cycle.
-The drum stinks if you don't keep the door open during the week
-It does indeed get clothes cleaner and they are "dryer" coming out of the washer. Less drying time in the dryer.

I'm not blown away by it.

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02 Focus SVT
STF 9

I agree w/all of that except #2, we stuff ours and it finishes. We have not had that problem. The stinky thing is true so we leave ours open. It also helps to make sure you run a load with real bleach occasionally. Ours didn't walk before we put it on the pedestal. The other problem we have is that the softener/bleach dispenser doesn't empty all the water out of it and the repair person did not fix it. (I know what the problem is, but don't feel like screwing with it as it doesn't affect anything) If you don't have well water it probably won't be a problem.

If you do a lot of loads and pay for water it will be more worthwhile than if you have well water. Also I think Maytag makes one now that is a top loader w/o the big agitator

I know alittle about washers and dryers. I own a laundrymat and have been around the biz all my life. So when you guys talk about other stuff, I have little to add most days... but this topic is right down my alley. Front load washers are far superior in 4 main categories: 1)less water consumption by at least 30% based on last figures I saw 2) less electricity used by 30-40 %
3) better cleaning due to superior design,( turns whole load rather than "agitate".) 4) shorter drying times.
The other less important advantages are: larger capacity in most cases, less wear and tear on clothes.
P.S. I still read consumer reports about reliability and features. I bought an LG on sale about a year ago and am very pleased so far.

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2008 Burnt Piston Award Winner!!!!

frigidaire affinity, two years at least.

the washer walks, but i'm too lazy to figure out if it can be fixed. i think if it were leveled it might stay put.

i ain't heard no bitch'in so i guess they work just fine. trust me if there was a problem.................

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BenchWarmer Motorsports

another one of those damn LeMons heads

just another Chump

we are an Autocross Club Dammit............

I wonder where the energy consumption figures come from. I can't see a front loader taking less energy to wash clothes than a top loader. However, I will say without a doubt the clothes come out drier from the front loader and therefore take much less time to dry. Drying is where all the energy comes into play.

I have a small mighty mouse whirlpool front loader....it's loud on spin cycle but doesn't walk.

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Amen brother.

We have had an LG front loader (can't remember model) for a few years now. I like it, but you have to keep the door open and also periodically clean the drain holes in the door seal to keep them from getting plugged up.

PS: We don't have any problems with walking

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Richard Casto
1972 Porsche 914
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Money can't buy happiness, but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Porsche than a Kia.

When we moved, we bought a new washer and dryer set. My wife for some of the reasons mentioned did not want a front loader. We ended up with a pretty big capacity top loader. It uses an impeller and is high efficiency. It was rated high in Comumer Reports as well. What we got was the Maytag Bravos. The washer is very quiet and has a lot of settings depending on the load type. We like it so far.

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1993 Crystal White Miata ST 27 - Slow, but always finishes
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